Canada Imposes Sanctions On Belarus

December 19, 2006 -- Canada is imposing trade sanctions on Belarus in a bid to pressure the country's rulers to respect human rights and democracy.

Under the sanctions, Canadian exports to Belarus will now require an official export permit, and officials say these permits will generally be denied except for humanitarian exports of food, clothing, and medicine.

In a written statement, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay cited flawed elections and the continued imprisonment of democracy supporters as examples of the flagrant abuse of human rights and the rule of law by Belarusian authorities.

(Reuters, AFP)

Russia And Belarus

The main Moscow-Minsk railway line(Tass)

TO MERGE OR NOT TO MERGE: For over a decade, Moscow and Minsk have been working on a project to form a single state, the Russia-Belarus Union. However, every time the two countries seem on the verge of making progress, one or the other steps back, leaving the entire effort in doubt.